A Service of Rainbow Law

Men Kicked Out of Texas Taco Joint For Kissing

Written by Chris Hall Friday, 10 July 2009 04:45

It seems the bad old days are still with us, even after the much-celebrated fortieth anniversary of Stonewall, at least in Texas. First, there was the police raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, which became infamous overnight because it seemed anachronistic in its naked homophobia. Now, the El Paso Times reports that five men were kicked out of a Chico's Tacos restaurant because two of them kissed while they were ordering.

Carlos Diaz de Leon, a gay man who was part of the group, said that when they seated themselves, two security guards told them that they had to leave. One of the guards said that he didn't allow "that faggot stuff," according to De Leon. When the men called the police, two officers arrived and supported the security guards: "De Leon said the officer told the group it was illegal for two men or two women to kiss in public," the El Paso Times writes. "The five men, he said, were told they could be cited for homosexual conduct—a law the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas." In addition, the El Paso City Council passed an ordinance in 2003 which banned discrimination by businesses on the basis of sexual orientation. Despite having both federal and municipal laws explicitly on the side of the five men, El Paso Police Detective Carlos Carillo felt able to tell the Times that while the men couldn't be busted for homosexual conduct, he felt that the restaurant was in the right, and the men could properly be charged with criminal trespass. "Every business has the right to refuse service," Carillo said. "They have the right to refuse service to whoever they don't want there. That's their prerogative."

Guess we still need a few more parades.

Read the original article in Carnal Nation